Climate Summary: Near-normal July temperatures for most
National Climate Summary: July 2014
Near-normal July temperatures for most, with exceptional rainfall for Northland
Rainfall July was a dry month for most parts of the country with the central North Island, Bay of Plenty, eastern Nelson-Marlborough and Canterbury regions experiencing well below normal rainfall (<50%). Below normal rainfall (50-79%) characterised much of Auckland, the south-eastern coast of the North Island and the western coast of the South Island. In contrast to this general dryness, significant rainfall events occurred in Northland and south-west Southland. These events contributed to the well above normal (> 149%) rainfall anomalies recorded in the regions during July.
Temperature After a record-warm June, temperatures were back to normal for most of the country during July. A pocket of below average (-1.20 to -0.51°C) mean temperature was recorded in the districts of Waitomo and Ruapehu, while above average temperatures (0.51 to 1.20°C) were observed in southern Canterbury and Otago. A mid-winter warm spell hit the eastern South Island and some areas of the North Island on the last day of July setting new maximum daily temperature records at several locations.
Soil Moisture As of 1 August, 2014 soil moistures were typical for the time of year for the entire country with the exception of Timaru, where slightly below normal soil moistures were present.
Sunshine It was an unusually sunny mid-winter with the Waikato and Bay of Plenty experiencing well above normal (>125%) sunshine hours. The high levels of sunshine extended to the rest of the North Island, despite the high rainfall in Northland, as well as to the north-west of the South Island where above average sunshine was recorded (100-125%). Banks Peninsula, Buller, coastal Otago and the south coast of Southland were not as bright, receiving below normal sunshine (75-89%).
Full report: Climate_Summary_July_2014.pdf